lecture 10

Vectors
In molecular cloning, a vector is a DNA molecule used as a vehicle to artificially carry foreign genetic material into another cell, where it can be replicated and/or expressed. A vector containing foreign DNA is termed recombinant DNA


What Do Vectors Have to Do With Genes and Cloning?
In molecular cloning, the vector is a DNA molecule that serves as the carrier for the transfer or insertion of foreign gene(s) into another cell, where it can be replicated and/or expressed. Vectors are among the essential tools for gene cloning and are most useful if they also encode some kind of marker gene encoding a bio indicator molecule that can be measured in a biological assessment to ensure their insertion, and expression, in the host organism.
Specifically, a cloning vector is DNA taken from a virus, plasmid or cells (of higher organisms) to be inserted with a foreign DNA


fragment for cloning purposes. Since the cloning vector can be stably maintained in an organism, the vector also contains features that allow for the convenient insertion or removal of DNA. After being cloned into a cloning vector, the DNA fragment can be further sub-cloned into another vector that can be used with even more specificity.